"When he got out, he was missing a foot and the other was attached by just a little skin."

Police say Alexis was apparently flushed back out of the pipe when the pump was shut off. They havehired an independent engineer to confirmif the pump was pulling with sufficient force to suck the youngster completely throughsuch anarrowopening.

Investigatorssay a perforated plastic cap that normally covers the open end of the pipe was found at the bottom of the pool.

Denis Arcand, the manager of the water park, said in an interview he checked Sunday evening and the cap was in place.

"That cap retains all the leaves and pieces of glass that would fall in the pool so they don't go in the pump," Arcand said.

"It's operating like that for 20 years. So an accident happened. Is it safe? They will tell us. As far as I know, we did what we have to do for that safety."

McInnis said police are now trying to determine whether the grill fell off accidentally or was removed.

Meanwhile, Alexis is facing a future with prosthetic feet.

Dr. Louise Caouette-Laberge, a plastic surgeon at Sainte-Justine hospital where the operation took place, said surgeons had no choice but to amputate the boy's legs below the knees.

"It is always a difficult decision to accept that you're not able to reconstruct. But, beyond that, the decision was not that hard because we had really no options," Caouette-Laberge said.